Soft Metal
by Songbird's Spirit
Summary: Next book of Flesh Wound. Gabriella thinks she just about has her captor figured out. But new twists, old enemies, ancient quarrels, a major fight, backstabbing, and her old memories spice up her life and keep things lively. She needs to survive and keep her duel lives straight and secret...but for how long? Read Flesh Wound first or you won't understand.
1. Reveal of the Unseen

**Soft Metal**

**If you haven't read Flesh Wound, then don't read this until you've read that. It's the 'Prequel'**

**So this is the first chapter of the actual story in the Flesh War trilogy. So we last left Gabriella May Doux with our mystery bot. This one saved her from being auctioned off to a shady Tower Brat. By the way, sorry for the terribly long wait and all. I've been super busy lately.**

**Let's check in on Gabby, shall we?**

**Start**

I groaned, but from a headache not tiredness. I felt energized and replenished. That was a weird but welcome change considering I always had to get up early to take care of the flowers. My eyes bugged and my heart stopped.

"THE FLOWERS!" I shouted.

It all came flying back at me like a slap to the face. I cried out again as I remembered I had been kidnapped, then auctioned, and brought to the home of the blue and white mech.

A tremendous crash sounded behind me followed by a loud thunk. I whipped my head around to face the sounds and yelped as I found the mech from before rushing towards me.

"Are you alright?!" he boomed.

I froze up. That voice was achingly familiar. I backed away and the mech gave me a hurt look. His expression quickly changed to a soft brotherly smile.

"Do you remember me, or…at least my voice?" he asked tentivly.

"Ghost boy?" I whispered hoarsely.

"Yeah, it's me. My real name is Mirage." He chuckled.

"You bought me at the auction." I stated.

"You weren't hurt there were you?" he asked suddenly.

"I suppose not, for the most part." I shrugged uncomfortably.

Mirage gingerly picked me up and set me in his palm. Cradling me over his Spark Chamber, he walked downstairs to the kitchen where servants were waiting for him. He set me down on the table close to where he sat as the servants laid out exotically cooked energon treats. It made me hungry. I then noticed I didn't have my visor and began to panic. Mirage looked up from his breakfast and cocked his head to the side.

"Your visor is being fixed, don't worry you'll retrieve it later." He told me.

I nodded to him quietly and a collective gasp ran through the crowd. I stared at the servants who gaped at me in horror. I didn't understand but Mirage seemed to.

"They're waiting for you to address me as sir." He explained.

"Why? You're not my master." I replied. He smiled softly.

"You're mostly right. I am not your master whatsoever, but I am the master of this house. I have the final say. You kind of have to." He explained.

"Look Mirage, I'm not from Cybertron, I'm from Earth. Those rules never applied for me. So you either need to teach me or accept that it won't just stick." I told him. He rolled his eyes…optics (Dammit!)

behind me followed be a loud thunk. and white ace. rs. sh War trilogy. "Fine, whatever." He sighed.

He dismissed the servant bots and they reluctantly left.

_~Aren't you hungry? ~_ Primus said randomly.

I jumped as Primus's voice rang in my head. With a shake of my head I tried to muffle the sounds of hungry protest from my belly.

"Starving actually, so yes, I'm hungry." I mumbled to him.

_~Then why don't you eat? ~_ He asked.

"It's not my house, or my food so I shouldn't." I told the god.

_~But Gabby… ~_ he protested.

"No, just go." I hissed.

Reluctantly, I felt Primus leave my consciousness. Mirage poked me on the shoulder. I jumped but turned to him.

"Yeah, what?" I asked.

"Why is your tank rumbling like that?" he asked.

"It means I need to eat." I explained.

"And, just why, are you keeping that to yourself?" he asked angrily.

"What are you so angry at me for?" I snapped.

"If you need to eat then tell me." he scolded.

He got up and opened the cabinets. He ruffled through them and found the smallest plate in there. He piled some of the food that the servants had left onto it and put it on the table. I hopped up and checked it out. They were little glowing blue balls, melted into one blob and sandwiched between two slabs of what resembled bread. With a shrug I took the me-sized burger-look-alike and took a bite.

Oh wow, I was in heaven!

The sheer taste was heavenly. There was flavor, texture, and it was filling. It reminded me of my time on earth though. There were no more Wal-Mart's or Targets. You scrounged for food and hoped to find something edible. I nearly starved many times and I was always hungry. When I did get something to eat it was usually broth or some sort of nasty slop.

I looked down sadly; did I really deserve this? Did I really deserve what my kind was depraved of?

I looked down at my food with a sigh. I picked at it for a few moments before taking another bite. The taste was less amazing now. Sadly I set the food back on the plate. The action wasn't unnoticed by my supposed "savior".

"Is something wrong Gabby?" he asked.

"I suppose you could say that." I muttered.

"C'mon G, you can tell me." Mirage said encouragingly cupping my back with a servo.

"I don't deserve this. Not when the rest of my, err…people are faring much worse." I told him.

"What's happened to them? Maybe I can help…" Mirage asked.

"Well," I mused as I tried to choose my words carefully, "I really can't tell you. Let's just say that there are some really bad people on my planet and they filled it with much misery."

Mirage stuck out his…glossa, was it, in dismay. He got up and put his plate in the sink and began to wash it. I was thankful that he was too far gone as to have his scattered array of servants do everything for him.

"Well, I can't really say that I understand," Mirage gestured to the estate, "I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so to speak. I really do care to understand the fighting and controversy beyond what I've seen with the other tower mechs. So I really can't say much in good advice."

"That's okay Mirage, I don't mind." I said sadly.

"I can, however, say that you do what you have to. So for right now, eat up. We're going to have hell when I introduce you to the rest of the staff."

I gulped down my pride and a twinge of solid fear. I had to meet the rest of the servants today.

This would not end well…

**Finish**

**So there's the first chapter in this series. I hope you liked it!**

**Ja ne, Songbird O.o**

**Check out Flesh Wound if you missed it!**


	2. Baths for the Faint of Heart

**Soft Metal 2**

**So we now have the second chapter coming into play! So we checked up on Gabriella last time and left off with her realizing she'd have to meet the rest of Mirage's Servant and staff. But we'll let Gabriella take care of the details now wont we? Well, enough of my rambling, on with the story.**

**Don't forget about the first in this series: Flesh Wound.**

**Start**

I gulped as it was about two hours after breakfast and we were finally heading towards the servants quarters. I had tried my best to make myself look presentable. I had cleaned my clothes the best I could and tried to rub out the dirt and grime. We were finally on our way to meet the staff of Mirage's estate.

"I don't want you to feel out of place here G, but some basic rules are set in this place for a reason." Mirage said firmly.

"Rules such as?" I inquired.

"For starters, you need to address me as sir or master in the presence of the other servants. If we are with any other mechs or alone I am merely your friend." He told me as we got closer.

"I think I'll address you as 'sir." I told Mirage somewhat grouchily.

"That will satisfy them well enough. The second and third rule sort of go servo in servo; you need to avoid any animal-like mechs. The third rule is to never reveal yourself in front of a mech named Toxicquill." He told me next.

"Whose Toxicquill?" I asked.

"He's a mech I'd really like to not know. He's a terrible conspiracy theorist, as well as a mech who always lets his Turbo foxes come everywhere with him. I have a deep dislike for him as many mechs do." Mirage fisted the servo that wasn't holding me.

"He sounds like a real Jackass of a dude." I mused.

"What are those things…a dude and a Jackass?" he asked.

"Erg, Mirage a dude is kinda like a friend OR a guy you know; and we really shouldn't go over that other one." I said softly.

"Alright, Ah, here we are." My friend said.

I looked forward as we neared a door. Mirage unlocked it and just the sound of a lock just sickened me to the core. This was slavery but with the poor. I instantly felt bad for them as they reminded me of something I had come to know on earth. My memories began to shift into a flashback as Mirage began to talk.

_Flashback_

_Near the beginning of the war on earth, our so-called president had established a force of men to kidnap girls and impregnate them. My family was taken by them, as were some of my friends. One of my friends, Annette, had it the worst. She got caught in what we came to know as Leader Lines._

"_NO, Annette!" I screamed in terror. _

_I had been following her Leader Line for about three days until they came to a stop for the fourth night. One of the men was dragging Annette into his tent. I couldn't stand by and watch my close friend is raped and I certainly couldn't take her screams. Armed to the teeth, in my own manner of speaking, I charged the camp and took down the man who dared to try and harm my friend. I freed the girls under his capture and the camp was in a storm of chaos. _

_I was trying my hardest to lead Annette out of the path of destruction but she was shot in the stomach by one of their acid bullets. The sheer image of the last look on her once beautiful face would haunt me every time I saw a leader line. Her sister, however, refused to be led to believe that her younger sibling had perished. She blamed me wholly for the death of her sister and swore revenge on me. And she became Roux. She was the woman who had sent me here. Roux had succeeded in bringing me an early death but she probably wanted something other than this._

_End flashback_

"Gabriella!" Mirage's voice tore me away from my memories and thoughts.

"Yes sir?" I asked immediately remembering our earlier discussion.

"Were you even listening?" he scolded.

"No Mirage, I wasn't someone here reminded me of some things. My apologies." I told him.

"Well whatever it was it can wait. These are the staff members and servant bots all gathered together" he gestured to the expanse of mechs and femmes in the room.

"Good Morning." I nodded to them.

In all there were about fourteen mechs on the staff side and thirty or so mechs and femmes on the servants' side. I felt for all of them and their feelings. Nobody deserved that. I wanted to cry but, since a long time ago, I had mastered holding back tears unnoticeably over the years.

"You will be aided by the servants as of now, but over time the Staff will aid you instead." Mirage told me.

Once again I could only nod to them in sadness.

"Nobody is to step on, harm or damage the human while she stays. Any attempts will result in deactivation." Mirage told them all.

That was when I decided I needed to faint…and I did.

He'd really kill them over something so small? He really would?

**(Two hours later)**

I woke up feeling very comfortable but really woozy. I wearily sat up and surveyed my surroundings. I was back in the room I had first woken up in. I was on one of the berths; the berths that transformed!

I wondered…

After actually getting my body to sit up and start moving, I jumped from the berth and down to the floor with ease, but before I could say a word Primus's voice crashed into my mind.

_**~YOU SON OF A TROUBLING-MAKING SPARKLING! DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS? ~**_

"OW, God Danged Loud Voices! Primus _slow down_ and be quieter for god's sake!" I howled as my ears began popping from the sheer intensity of the sound.

_~No I will not _calm down_, ~ he _roared and began to make noises suspiciously like sobbing_. ~Do you have any idea how _worried_ I was? ~_

"I think I have a pretty solid grasp on it." I said.

~_I was _very_ worried!_ ~ He continued as if I hadn't talked at all. ~_None of the bots knew how to wake you up at all! They were all worried sick as was I. I haven't studied humans long enough to know how to wake them up or else I would've sent someone some miracle know-how on how to rouse humans from a processor crash! ~_

"I'm sorry, Jeeze, you sound like my mother!" I groaned.

_~Well, you are devoid of one as of the moment so stop complaining. ~_

"Jeeze, I really feel the love now Primus." I growled.

_~I bet you do~_ He snickered and sent a strong pulse of love cheekily over the link I shared with him, _~I am a human mother to the people of Cybertron in quite a few ways despite the fact I am a mech. Now could you be so kind as to tell me what happened. ~_

"What are you getting at?" I asked.

~_I mean that all I felt was panic, stress, hurt, disbelief, fear, resolve and then you just fainted. What in all of the great golden age could have triggered such emotions? ~_ He asked urgently.

"Mirage said he'd deactivate any mech or femme who tried to hurt me." I told him.

_~Go on. ~_

"Deactivating a mech or femme means killing them…doesn't it?" I asked, my resolve failing me.

_~Sweetspark, Mirage was just trying to make sure you're safe. I hardly believe he meant what he said. ~ _Primus soothed my anger.

"But he still said it! That and he has these servant bots and staff working for him! It reminds me too much of the Leader Lines and Takeaway missions that the war had back on earth!" I ranted as I paced back and forth in Mirage's room.

_~Sweetspark! ~_ Primus sent an incredibly strong pulse of love, care and affection over the link in an effort to quell my anger. _~He has servants and staff yes but while some of them are sentient the others well…are not. ~_

"What does that mean?" I asked as tears threatened to fall from my eyes.

_~Many of Mirage's staff and servants are Habitual Drones. They're just like most of your earthen robots, made in a factory and programmed to serve. ~_

"So they don't have a spark?" I asked feebly.

_~No sparklet, they don't. ~_ He assured me.

"Oh, good." I said.

_~Oh Jeeze, Sparklet, you need a bath. ~_ Primus chuckled.

"I can't argue with that." I mumbled.

Primus laughed at that and sent a feeling of him patting my cheek over our link. I briefly wondered what type of link we shared but the thought could wait until I had bathed. Primus retreated from my mind and promised to be back soon to continue our conversation. I sat up and turned to the berths. Mildly wondering what kind of crazy I'd be labeled as by them since I doubted that they could hear both sides of my link with Primus.

"Um, guys, are you alive?" I asked the berths.

The berths surprised me by doing a quick and simple transformation. Both of the Berth formers looked down at me from their full height. They weren't too much taller than Mirage but they were definitely taller than me.

"Um, is there a bathroom somewhere?" I asked.

"What's a bathroom?" they both asked.

"Oh crap, what's it called…a washrack?" I guessed.

The Berthformers straightened up and looked to one another. They laid out their hand, one each, palm up. I climbed up on the closest servo. They carried me down the hall to a separate washrack than the one in Mirage's room. The Berthformers left me to do what I could. I surveyed the washrack and realized there was no water there would only be solvents.

_ ~That's easily fixed; push the filter knob on the sink and the solvent becomes water. They don't ever use it though because it can cause rust. ~_ Primus sounded.

"Thanks Primus." I nodded.

_~Don't you want to know why? ~_

"Sure, why not." I sighed in resolution.

_~Mirage uses it as a "weapon" against the Turbo foxes he hunts. ~_ Primus said proudly.

"What?" I asked.

_~Turbo Foxes hate water. Many hunters use water as a hunting weapon on Cybertron. ~ _

"Just how often do you stalk these people?"

There was a sort of playful, but offended, silence over Primus's side of the link. The Holy Cybertronian deity retreated from my mind and I laughed at him. After receiving a thump on the forehead over the link from the Godly Cybertronian I quieted my giggles and began my ascent.

I yawned as I climbed up the side of the sink and quite easily found the filter that Primus was talking about. I pressed it and the gears in the sink gave a rusted creak before the foggy solvents became clear water. I smiled at this and lowered the plug in the sink. I was quick to leave it open a crack so that it would fill slower but still allow the water to run for a shower. I stripped off my clothes and grabbed a swatch of the rags used by the bots. There was regular soap available but only I mech sized bottles. I climbed up the bottle and got some of the soap on the rag before climbing down into the sink and taking a shower.

I ran the rag over my skin as the warm water cascaded over my body. I hadn't taken a good shower ever since the war. Even after I'd gotten here the showers were cold and terribly made for worker bots. The only thing I really had to worry about was 'every girl's monthly hassle' as I usually called it. I was positive that they did not have pads and the dreaded T-word I never spoke of or used for that matter. Under the rush of the water was a good place to think. I rubbed at my neck, chest and arms before scraping up some excess soap of the walls from habit and then washing other regions and my legs and feet.

I climbed up and drained the water by releasing the plug and then I plugged it again to make a bath. I was actually getting a chance for a bath for once and I wasn't going to pass this up. I waded down into the water and gradually got some different soap. Rubbing the soap between freshly cleansed palms I rubbed it through my hair. My hair was supposed to be a brighter yellow blonde than the dirty blonde that it was. I really needed to clean it thoroughly. I continued to scrub through my locks and finally rinsed out the soaps. Climbing up the side of the sink once more, I found the closest thing to conditioner as I could and ran that through my hair. After rinsing myself off one last time, I pulled the plug on my water. Now what was I supposed to do about my dirty clothes.

"G, are you in there?" Mirage's voice came through the door.

"Yes, what is it?" I asked.

"You're taking a bath aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes Mirage."

"Good, but what about your clothes?"

"What about them?"

"If you put them back on the bath will have been pointless."

"Well, what do you suggest?" I asked testily.

"Well, I'm going to go and ask the ladies at the Crystal Gardens for your things."

"Why?"

"You will be staying here as of now."

"As of now?"

"Well, at least for a while. The people who took you have been lurking around there more than usual. They probably assumed you had escaped and come back by now. I agreed by their request for you to stay here."

"Oh, that's nice…are you sure?" I asked him warily.

"Of course, I may not know you that well but I want to know you better. What better way. Of course you will be taking care of your flowers still but less often; Probably every other solar cycle*."

"I understand, thank you so much Mirage." I thanked him.

"It's no trouble really…well getting your stuff might be but I have a feeling it will be worth it in the end." Mirage chuckled.

"I'll repay you somehow Mirage. I'll make it a promise…" I trailed off remembering that those were my last words.

"_I'll find out, I'll make it a promise."_

The final words of my other life played over and over in my head. I sniffled a tad remembering that the safe camp I'd been going to had needed the valuable information I'd been carrying to have a better chance at taking back our…their country. I'd failed them.

"G!" Mirage shouted.

I registered that he'd been shouting for a while…then I registered he'd busted through the door and was now gaping at my bare form. For a moment you could hear a pin drop then all hell broke loose once Mirage got done talking.

"Well, you don't look half bad actually…" he trailed off awkwardly.

My cheeks flamed red with blood and I finally screamed in rage, embarrassment and true woman fury. I chucked some sort of tooth…denta, _gosh damnit_, brush at the blue tower mech. He ducked and his cheeks flamed with a blue blush. I was enraged further at my miss and chucked a bottle at him before he would leave. He finally took the damn message and let loose a string of apologies before slamming the door shut tight. I collapsed into the water.

_~That went much better than I thought it would. ~_ Primus commented.

There was another knock at the door and I didn't bother to get up.

"Who is it?!" I called.

: This is service drone 1i1-4C, are you in need of assistance? : The drone asked in Cybertronian.

"No thanks Lilac; open this door and I will blow your ass out of the water." I replied the last part in English.

: Lilac? : She asked.

"Yes, 1i1-4C spells Lilac if you use the Number-To-Letter conversion game from my planet." I said in Cybertronian.

: Oh, thanks Ma'am. :

"You're Welcome, please, just call me G."

**Finish**

**Holy moldy! Two chapters typed up in one day! Not too bad I suppose! So tell me what you think!**

**Don't forget to check out my first story in this series: Flesh Wound.**

**Ja ne, Songbird O.o**

**Please Review!**

*Solar Cycle: 1 Day


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